Gone Tomorrow by Lee Child

Gone Tomorrow by Lee Child
Publisher: Dell Publishing
Pub. Date: May 19, 2009
ISBN-13: 9780385340571
432pp


British born author Lee Child has enjoyed great success in recent years, allegedly selling a book every second. Child has a natural ability to pen a solid thriller, but make no mistake, his popularity rides squarely on the shoulders of his creation Jack Reacher, an ex-U.S. Army MP turned itinerant traveler and magnet for trouble.

Reacher is well versed in any number of intellectual disciplines, capable of detailed analysis in the blink of an eye, tough enough to put Rambo to shame, enjoys an unhealthy habit of latching onto trouble at the slightest provocation, and possesses a smug certainty in his own abilities.

Frankly, there are times in the series when Reacher is so cookie-cutter perfect you are left (guiltily) hoping that someone - good, bad, or otherwise - finally manages to take him down a notch. Thankfully Gone Tomorrow, the thirteenth and latest installment in the series, is a thriller with enough energy and intelligence to keep those thoughts at bay.

As the book opens, Reacher is the last person to speak to a woman before she abruptly commits suicide aboard a subway car. When it becomes known that she was smuggling sensitive information, info of interest to both a candidate for the Senate and a foreign national, Reacher erroneously becomes the center of attention for both parties. He must sort out friend from foe and not only recover the information, but determine whether its destruction - or release - best serves the nation's interest.

Gone Tomorrow is a revival of first person narrative in the series, and more importantly the welcome return of a definitive 'bad guy' to face down Reacher. A character as iconic and seemingly invincible as Reacher works best when confronted with a strong antagonist, such as Tripwire's delightfully evil Hook Hobie. There's no one in this novel as physically sinister as Hobie, but once the story develops there's no mistaking who's the bad guy and who is not. That itself is a welcome change from Child's recent novels, where he spent nearly as much time vilifying Bush's policies as he did lining up opponents for Reacher.

The plot is solid and easily holds your interest, progressing with such ease that the reader is left pleasantly surprised at how quickly the problem has multiplied. True, the main thrust of the action is the same fodder you'll find in dozens of cheap paperbacks, but Child finesses it with a fine degree of skill that elevates it to something much more.

Child's been quoted as saying (hopefully in jest) that he'll eventually kill off Reacher in a way that leaves no doubt that his famous character is finished once and for all.

If Gone Tomorrow is any indication of the way the series is going, readers will be left hoping that finale is a long way off.